Sustainable Landscape Management
Green Infrastructure
How the Greenway learns to live with water.
The Greenway is New Orleans’ premier example of post-Katrina sustainable stormwater management, known as “Green Infrastructure,” that allows us to live with water.
Trees
Since the Greenway opened in 2015, more than 500 trees have been planted along it. A new tree drinks only a few gallons of water a day, but a mature cypress or live oak can take in 880 to 1,000 gallons a day.
Look for live oaks, bald cypresses, southern magnolias, and pecan trees as you walk the trail.
500+
trees planted since 2015
1,000
gallons a day a mature oak can use
Bioswales
One of the Greenway’s hardest-working stormwater features is hiding in plain sight: the bioswales. These low tracts of land are planted with native, water-loving plants and designed to hold rainwater, then slowly release it back into the ground. By storing water for a while, bioswales help prevent flooding and subsidence.
1.45M
gallons of water held above ground: more than two Olympic pools
Permeable Pavement
The Greenway’s light-gray walkways help manage stormwater too. Water pools on top of ordinary pavement, but permeable pavement lets it soak through into the ground below.
Bioretention Cells
Bioretention cells are small planted areas next to storm drains, built to store, divert, and delay water before it enters the drainage system. Most storm drains sit in pavement and send water straight from the street into the pipes. Bioretention cells, planted with tall water-loving plants, slow that flow down and ease the load on storm drains during heavy rain.
See it for yourself.
Walk the Greenway with us and see how every tree, path, and drain does its part when the rain comes.